::''See also: [[Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives]]''

::''See also: [[Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives]]''

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According to the website ''GovTrack,'' Bridenstine missed 9 of 1,072 roll call votes from January 2013 to July 2014. This amounts to 0.8%, which is better than the median of 2.5% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving as of July 2014.<ref>[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/jim_bridenstine/412567 ''GovTrack'', "Jim Bridenstine," accessed July 22, 2014]</ref>

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According to the website ''GovTrack,'' Bridenstine missed 9 of 1,072 roll call votes from January 2013 to July 2014. This amounts to 0.8 percent, which is better than the median of 2.5 percent among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving as of July 2014.<ref>[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/jim_bridenstine/412567 ''GovTrack'', "Jim Bridenstine," accessed July 22, 2014]</ref>

Bridenstine defeated incumbent John Sullivan in the Republican primary on June 26, 2012.[1][2] The day of the primary, Sullivan said he had made a mistake by ignoring the primary challenge for too long. "I never had a race like this in all my life," he said.[3] He then defeated John Olson (D) and Craig Allen (I) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[4]

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Bridenstine is a more moderate right of center Republican Party vote. As a result, he may break with the Republican Party line more than his fellow members.

Biography

While in active duty in the U.S. Navy, Bridenstine participated in Operation Enduring Freedom In Afghanistan. In Iraq, he flew in Operation Southern Watch and Operation Shock and Awe. After leaving active duty, he earned his MBA from Cornell University. He returned to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and he became the Executive Director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium. Today, he flies the E-2C Hawkeye in South and Central America as a pilot in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Bridenstine's academic, professional and political career:[5]

Key votes

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[7] For more information pertaining to Bridenstine's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[8]

National security

American response in Syria

Bridenstine opposed PresidentBarack Obama's proposed military strikes against Syria. He stated at a town hall meeting at Wesleyan University in response to questions about the possibility of taking action, "Stay away from Syria quagmire, please oppose any action in Syria."[9]

NDAA

Bridenstine voted for HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.[10]

DHS Appropriations

Bridenstine voted for HR 2217 - the DHS Appropriations Act (2014) Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 that was largely along party lines.[11]

CISPA (2013)

Bridenstine voted against HR 624 - the CISPA (2013). The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill would allow federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities. The bill was largely supported by Republicans, but divided the Democratic Party.[12]

Economy

Government shutdown

On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[13] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[14] Bridenstine voted in favor of the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[15]

The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[16] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Bridenstine voted against HR 2775.[17]

Federal Pay Adjustment Elimination

Bridenstine voted for HR 273 - Eliminates the 2013 Statutory Pay Adjustment for Federal Employees. The bill passed the House on February 15, 2013, with a vote of 261 - 154. The bill would prevent a 0.5% pay increase for all federal workers from taking effect, saving the federal government $11 billion over 10 years.[18]

Immigration

Morton Memos Prohibition

Bridenstine voted for House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States.[19] The vote largely followed party lines.[20]

Healthcare

Healthcare Reform Rules

Bridenstine voted for House Amendment 450 - Requires Congressional Approval for Any Rules Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The amendment was adopted by the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 227-185. The amendment requires that all changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act be approved by Congress before taking effect. The vote was largely along party lines.[21]

Social issues

Abortion

Bridenstine voted for HR 1797 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The resolution passed the House on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 228 - 196 that largely followed party lines. The purpose of the bill is to ban abortions that would take place 20 or more weeks after fertilization.[22]

Issues

On The Issues Vote Match

Based on the results of the On The Issues VoteMatch quiz, Bridenstine is a hard-core conservative. Bridenstine received a score of 22 percent on social issues and 83 percent on economic issues. On The Issues conducts its VoteMatch analysis of elected officials based on 20 issue areas. Rather than relying on incumbents to complete the quiz themselves, the VoteMatch analysis is conducted using voting records, statements to the media, debate transcripts or citations from books authored by or about the candidate.[26]

On The Issues organization logo.

The table below contains the results of analysis compiled by staff at On The Issues.

Note: Information last updated: 2014.[26] If you notice the rating has changed, email us.

Conservative Fight Club

According to the conservative website RedState, Bridenstine was one of 16 U.S. House members in the "Conservative Fight Club," a designation meant to describe the "gold standard for conservatives in the House," as outlined by RedState. They were the 16 Republicans who voted against the continuing appropriations resolution to avoid the impending government shutdown in March 2013. This type of resolution is used to fund government agencies when a formal federal budget has not been approved.[28]

Elections

2014

Bridenstine was set to run for re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary election on June 24, 2014. The general election took place November 4, 2014.

Bridenstine announced on January 29, 2014, that he would not run in the 2014 special election for Tom Coburn's Senate seat. In a statement, he said, “Since Dr. Tom Coburn’s retirement announcement, I have been honored and overwhelmed by encouragement to succeed him as Oklahoma’s senator. After giving this matter serious consideration and prayer, my family and I have decided I will not run in the special election to complete Dr. Coburn’s term.”[29]

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Tulsa Air and Space Museum Attacks

Incumbent Rep. John Sullivan, who Bridenstine challenged in the GOP primary, accused Bridenstine of mismanaging finances at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum. Bridenstine served as the museum's director from December 2008 to August 2010. Though Bridenstine acknowledged the museum lost nearly $383,000 under his watch, he called Sullivan's attacks "recklessly false allegations." Bridenstine argued the loss was because he was trying to attract a retired NASA shuttle. Museum attorney Greggory Colpitts released a statement calling Sullivan's attacks a "reckless denial of the facts," and he demanded that the Congressman "publicly withdraw the allegations he made."[33]

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Bridenstine is available dating back to 2012. Based on available campaign finance records, Bridenstine raised a total of $781,233 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 22, 2013.[34]

PGI: Change in net worth

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Bridenstine's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $-174,145 to $129,849. That averages to $-22,148, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican House members in 2012 of $7,614,097.96. Bridenstine ranked as the 422nd most wealthy representative in 2012.[46] Between 2011 and 2012, Bridenstine's calculated net worth[47] decreased by an average of 157 percent per year. Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent.[48]

Comparatively, the American citizen experienced a median yearly decline in net worth of -0.94%.[50]

The data used to calculate changes in net worth may include changes resulting from assets gained through marriage, inheritance, changes in family estates and/or trusts, changes in family business ownership and many other variables unrelated to a member's behavior in Congress.

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Bridenstine missed 9 of 1,072 roll call votes from January 2013 to July 2014. This amounts to 0.8 percent, which is better than the median of 2.5 percent among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving as of July 2014.[53]

National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Click the link above for the full ratings of all members of Congress.

↑The questions in the quiz are broken down into two sections -- social and economic. In social questions, liberals and libertarians agree in choosing the less-government answers, while conservatives and populists agree in choosing the more restrictive answers. For the economic questions, conservatives and libertarians agree in choosing the less-government answers, while liberals and populists agree in choosing the more restrictive answers.